My previous article started a discussion about the varied, yet complimentary roles of the different disciplines within civil engineering. This article will discuss the education and experience components of this the requirements to demonstrate competency to the public. The next article will discuss the necessary examination to get a professional engineering license and the role that advanced credentials play in qualifications.
Education
The education for each of the disciplines has a basic common core of mathematics, physics, chemistry, statics, surveying, structural analysis, fluid mechanics, soils mechanics and mechanics of materials. It is not until the senior year of college that more advanced classes in an area of specialty is selected.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has spent considerable time and effort defining the requirements for an individual entering the practice of civil engineering at the professional level. Within their Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century, they readily admit that this body of knowledge is not fulfilled at the Bachelor’s degree level in engineering. The Body of Knowledge represents a progression in maturity from the accumulation of knowledge, to comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The learning at the Bachelor’s level includes the first three levels of the progression: accumulation of knowledge, comprehension of that knowledge and the beginnings of learning how to apply that knowledge to real-life practical situations. More complete application, and the steps of analysis, synthesis and evaluation occur during the minimum of 30 additional hours of education and, most importantly, during experience in their job.
Experience
In addition to formal education, there are two other requirements for licensure : 4 years of experience in the area of claimed proficiency and passing the Fundamentals of Engineering examination and the appropriate Principles and Practice examination provided by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).
It is during the first four years of experience after graduation that true application to real life situations really starts for the engineer in their area of specialization. This is where the requirements of codes and standards in their specialty are learned and where young engineers learn the procedures and practices necessary to provide safety. During college, students may learn about theory and component design, but it all comes together during the practical experience in their first years after graduation; and it is a continuing process even after the first four years.
The next article will discuss the examinations required to get licensed in civil engineering.
Portions of this blog were from an article authored by Mr. Randall P. Bernhardt and published in the June 8, 2016 Practice Points.
©2016 by the American Bar Association. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any or portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.
